Slimming World Recipes, Food Ideas and a Personal Journey to Being Slim

Another Fresh Start

Three weeks ago, on 23rd January, we joined a new Slimming World group.

We’d been to another group previously but decided we’d move to a Saturday session. Weekends were always a difficult time for us, but coming fresh out of class on Saturday lunchtimes keeps us fired up for the week somehow.

I’ve lost 12 pounds in total – 9.5 in the first week, nothing in the second and 2.5 in the third. I’m good with that. The big loss at the start is the most I’ve ever had, so I wasn’t too disappointed when I maintained in week two.

Aside from the move to a Saturday session, there are a couple of other things we’ve done differently this time.

The plan’s different. More of an emphasis on the speedy fruit and vegetables, and a few syns added to some of the packet meals I used to enjoy. I’m struggling a bit with eating enough vegetables – sometimes because I’m having something that doesn’t lend itself to adding extra veg, and sometimes because I’m simply not in the mood to eat lots. So that’s my big challenge at the moment.

We bought two things just as we started. A Nespresso machine and an actifry. We’d had a Nespresso in our room on holiday this year and I decided to invest in one for home. We always have our coffee black without sugar, and it’s great to have a treat that we don’t have to count. It also means we can avoid tempting trips to Costa on Saturday afternoons when we’re craving real coffee. It’s gorgeous, takes up very little space and feels like a proper indulgence!

The Actifry has been a revelation. I’ve been hankering after one for years; ever since Slimming World types started getting them and bragging about making chips in them. Well, after years of making Slimming World chips in the oven, this is a whole new experience. It really does work, takes hardly any cleaning and delivers perfect chips every time.

I keep promising myself I’ll try something new, but so far that’s been limited to some sweet potato paprika bites and a bit of spicy chicken. But it’s been worth it just for the chips.

And then there are the Slimming World meals. I think they’ve been really key in keeping us on plan. In the past, there’d always be that temptation to order a takeaway after a long day at work. Now we have a freezer that’s half full of ready meals that don’t need synning and are big enough to be a full meal – unlike a lot of slimming meals, these ones are really substantial.

All of those things have helped, but what’s really made a difference is that I felt truly ready for this. I was feeling fat and miserable for months beforehand, but I knew that I had to wait until I was ready. I don’t know how that comes about or what the trick is, but I just knew that the time was right.

Since I started, I’ve stuck to it 100%. No cheating, no black holes. And I’ve not really felt tempted.

The next few weeks will be more tricky; we have a meal out this week and I have a conference at the end of the month. But I feel determined to keep powering on.

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